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e-Newsletter
39/17
20 October 2017
POLICY AND LEGISLATION
Land expropriation without compensation will impact the ordinary citizen 

As we move closer and closer to the elective conference of the ruling party in December, South Africa's focus is firmly set on who will emerge as the new leader of the ruling political party. Whilst the leadership race has certainly stolen the lime light, and understandably so, one should not neglect the central policy issues postponed in July that are due to be decided at this conference. Chief amongst these issues is the land debate and whether to amend the Constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation. Ironically, this 'side show' may well have the most direct impact as ordinary citizens will feel the crunch where it hurts the most, in their wallet - Read more»
BUSA issues important media releases 
 

Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS)

In line with BUSA's strategic priority advocating for a sustainable tax regime for inclusive growth, BUSA made submissions to National Treasury last week on the MTBPS. The main thrust of our submission is that fiscal space will have to be achieved through greater efficiencies in government, particularly in State Owned Enterprises. Please click on BUSA media release on MTBPS to peruse.
 

SABC and SAA Board Appointments

Reinforcing the importance of good governance and sound financial management in SoE's, BUSA has been advocating through a variety of different fora for the appointment of credible and capable individuals to the Boards of SoE's. In this regard, we extend our congratulat ions to BUSA Vice President Martin Kingston, and members of the BUSA family, Nolita Fakude (who has been appointed as Deputy Chairperson) and Geoff Rothschild on their appointment to the SAA Board. Please click on BUSA media release on SABC and SAA Board appointments to peruse. 
ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE

Food inflation continued to decelerate driven by lower agricultural commodity prices. In September 2017, the overall food price inflation eased to 5.4%, which is the lowest since November 2015. With that said, the picture remains mixed within the food basket. Meat price inflation remains stickier primarily due to base effects, as well as spreading avian influenza. Livestock restocking process, which has been the key driver of meat price inflation for some time is somewhat normalising, as abattoir's data show an uptick in monthly slaughtering activity. Given the weight of poultry in the overall food price inflation, the spreading avian influenza will remain a key upside risk to food inflation over the foreseeable future. A gbiz economist,   Wandile Sihlobo, provides more information in the  linked update»


Click here to read the daily market view on commodities and the weekly wrap.  
OTHER NEWS

Dr John Purchase, Agbiz CEO, has been nominated for the IRMSA 2017 Awards in the category: "Risk Influencer of the Year".   At an annual gala dinner and awards ceremony, that will be taking place on 3 November 2017, IRMSA will recognise and reward South Africa's top Risk Management professionals who have made a significant contribution as well as the best risk management initiatives within different industries.

On the occasion to mark one year of the entry into force of the SADC-EU EPA on World Food Day, the European Union Trade Commissioner, Mrs Cecilia Malmström, hosted a business reception attended by, amongst others, Mr Phil Bowes of VinPro, Mr Michael Mokhoro of WineBiz and Dr John Purchase, CEO of Agbiz. The South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Senzeni Zokwana, delivered an address that emphasized the importance and growth potential of agricultural trade between the European Union and South Africa. 


The well-established and renown annual Aldam Stockman School was held at the Willem Pretorius Nature Reserve this past week, with the theme of Participation in the Red Meat Value Chain through improved management practices.  The three-day programme focused on economic prospects, the red meat production value chain and production efficiency. Various international and local speakers addressed participants on a range of subjects, while the CEO of Agbiz addressed the meeting on the Competitiveness of the South African Red Meat Industry in the global market.  The industry has made significant strides in improving global competitiveness, and this has manifested itself in beef export growth from around 600 tons in 2012 to over 3500 tons in 2016. If issues of biosecurity, traceability, product and market segmentation, research and innovation, and above all a common vision and industry strategy, amongst others, can be sorted and developed, the industry can achieve its considerable growth potential. Furthermore, the matter of a regional red meat value chain needs to be explored as critical mass in terms of beef exports by Namibia, Botswana and South Africa is essential to ensure competitiveness on the global market.
 
FLTR: Dr John Purchase (Agbiz), Dr Michael Bradfield (AgriBSA and Breedplan) and Mr Jason Strong (Australia).

The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) is making an annual bursary of R34 000 (THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND RAND) available to a South African student registered for a Masters or PhD degree in either agricultural economics or agribusiness management related fields, at any recognised South African university.  The c losing date for applications is 8 December 2017.  More information»
Newsletters
- Regional trade needs to be a top priority for African leaders
- SADC Border Chaos
- Sustainability provisions in RTAs: Options for multilateralisation
Tutwa Consulting Group at the ITC's Trade for Sustainable Development Forum

In this month's newsletter, MASDT reports how they enabled farmer Patricia Mogate from Phiring village in Limpopo Province to grow her farming activities. Besides providing for her own family, she now also supplies vegetables to the local shops within the village. The demand for her produce has increased and she is currently negotiating with a neighbour to lease some of his land to expand her booming business - Read more»

Improving crop estimates by integrating multiple data sources
A new report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), a primary statistical data collection agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is recommending some changes to how NASS gathers information for county crop reports and other surveys - Read more»
UPCOMING EVENTS
2018 Agbiz Congress: 7-8 June 2018

Boardwalk International Convention Centre in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.  
C ongress theme: Uncertainty Creates Opportunity. 
Registration opens in January 2018.
AGRI 5 Commodities Workshop & Expo
20-21 October 2017 |  East London Show Grounds
More information:  info@atoneworks.co.za

13th SIAMAP International Show
31 October to 5 November 2017 | Tunisia

African Dairy Conference and Exhibition (13th AfDa)
15-17 November 2017 | Johannesburg
More information

African Agri Investment Indaba 2017
20-22 November 2017 | CTICC | Cape Town
More information

28 - 30 November |  Johannesburg
More information

BFAP ReNAPRI Stakeholder Conference
30 Nov - 1 Dec 2017 | Lagoon Beach Hotel | Cape Town
Information: invitesrenapri@gmail.com

International Conference on Global Food Security 
3-6 December 2017 | Cape Town
More information

VinPro Information Day
18 January 2018 | CTICC | Cape Town
AGBIZ MEMBERSHIP
Being a member of Agbiz provides various benefits and opportunities

- Agbiz is the only organisation that serves the broader and common over-arching business interests of agribusinesses in South Africa.
- Agbiz addresses the legislative and policy environment on the many fronts that it impacts on the agribusiness environment.
- Agbiz facilitates considerable top-level networking opportunities so that South African agribusinesses can play an active and creative role within the local and international organised business environment.
- Agbiz research provides sector specific information for informed decision making.
Agbiz newsletter publishes members' press releases and member product announcements.

Please visit the Agbiz website for more information.
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In this newsletter